HIO'S WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
Be Part of Her Dream
A Program That Benefits Mothers and Their Daughters
HIO mothers have been taught emphatically since birth to be subservient. Most of these marginalized women have completed very little formal education, having been denied opportunities to go to school as young girls. Be Part of Her Dream provides tools and supportive learning environments that encourage HIO mothers and grandmothers to develop as strong community leaders and role models.
A Program That Benefits Mothers and Their Daughters
HIO mothers have been taught emphatically since birth to be subservient. Most of these marginalized women have completed very little formal education, having been denied opportunities to go to school as young girls. Be Part of Her Dream provides tools and supportive learning environments that encourage HIO mothers and grandmothers to develop as strong community leaders and role models.
In the mothers' class, daughters assist their mothers in learning.
Be Part of Her Dream offers mothers of HIO sponsored girls access to free education and a strong social support system. The program guides women through accessing legal rights they are entitled to as citizens, and it empowers them with a small measure of financial security and independence. With skills learned in classes, the women gain the capacity to affect social change while developing dignity and hope.
Instruction in Nepali and English
Women attend class for two hours per day, five days per week. Teachers use lesson plans that specifically address the needs of adult learners, adapting English, Nepali, and math curricula from materials used for instructing young children. Women gain digital fluency using early learning software in the schools’ computer labs, and on their mobile phones. A favorite part of the week is learning vocational skills such as knitting, sewing and beadwork.
Women apply their sewing skills to a community quilting project. Photo by DeeDee Morris.
Innovative Cash-Transfer Program
Participants are able to be part of the first cash-transfer program of its kind in Nepal, designed in the hopes of alleviating profound poverty for many single, illiterate mothers with no dependable means of support. The core of the program offers small stipends to poor women in exchange for regular class attendance. This income helps offset lost wages they may experience by coming to class, and it creates a modest, though vital, safety net of financial stability where none now exists.
Improving financial literacy is a key goal of the program. Women open bank accounts and must save at least 50% of their stipends. HIO provides guidance for women using their savings to open grass-roots businesses and cooperatives. Because their daughter’s education is sponsored by HIO, mothers’ progress and savings is easily monitored.
Participants are able to be part of the first cash-transfer program of its kind in Nepal, designed in the hopes of alleviating profound poverty for many single, illiterate mothers with no dependable means of support. The core of the program offers small stipends to poor women in exchange for regular class attendance. This income helps offset lost wages they may experience by coming to class, and it creates a modest, though vital, safety net of financial stability where none now exists.
Improving financial literacy is a key goal of the program. Women open bank accounts and must save at least 50% of their stipends. HIO provides guidance for women using their savings to open grass-roots businesses and cooperatives. Because their daughter’s education is sponsored by HIO, mothers’ progress and savings is easily monitored.
Kabita's passbook shows her savings from Be Part of Her Dream stipends.
Obtaining Nepali Citizenship
Citizenship in Nepal is not a birthright; it must be applied for with active consent of a father or husband. Women often face intense pressure from family members who dissuade them from applying for citizenship. Many HIO mothers have been denied access to Nepali citizenship papers, due to their marital situation and a profound lack of literacy skills.
Similarly, gaining access to birth certificates for their children is challenging for many HIO mothers. Be Part of Her Dream teachers, HIO staff, and a volunteer lawyer open doors to this access and provide guidance for women navigating complex government systems for the first time. By acquiring their own citizenship papers, women in the program can then exercise legal rights they are entitled to as Nepali citizens such as the right to vote and access to government provided social services, crucially including education.
Preventative and Emergency Healthcare
Most of our girls’ mothers receive little to no professional healthcare or health education. Women enrolled in Be Part of Her Dream receive initial health screenings by certified healthcare providers, including OBGYN, dental and eye health exams to gain a baseline. Women in the program with acute medical conditions receive guidance navigating complex healthcare systems and financial support if needed.
HIO partners with two local NGOs to offer reproductive health and abuse prevention workshops and health counseling to all participants and their daughters. Workshops are intended to help prevent teen pregnancy, child marriage, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Instructors introduce the sanitary use of menstrual cups and reusable menstrual pads, which HIO provides for free.
Citizenship in Nepal is not a birthright; it must be applied for with active consent of a father or husband. Women often face intense pressure from family members who dissuade them from applying for citizenship. Many HIO mothers have been denied access to Nepali citizenship papers, due to their marital situation and a profound lack of literacy skills.
Similarly, gaining access to birth certificates for their children is challenging for many HIO mothers. Be Part of Her Dream teachers, HIO staff, and a volunteer lawyer open doors to this access and provide guidance for women navigating complex government systems for the first time. By acquiring their own citizenship papers, women in the program can then exercise legal rights they are entitled to as Nepali citizens such as the right to vote and access to government provided social services, crucially including education.
Preventative and Emergency Healthcare
Most of our girls’ mothers receive little to no professional healthcare or health education. Women enrolled in Be Part of Her Dream receive initial health screenings by certified healthcare providers, including OBGYN, dental and eye health exams to gain a baseline. Women in the program with acute medical conditions receive guidance navigating complex healthcare systems and financial support if needed.
HIO partners with two local NGOs to offer reproductive health and abuse prevention workshops and health counseling to all participants and their daughters. Workshops are intended to help prevent teen pregnancy, child marriage, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Instructors introduce the sanitary use of menstrual cups and reusable menstrual pads, which HIO provides for free.
Dhan Kumari had never held a pencil before her first mothers' literacy class.
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How You Can Help
Donations to Be Part of Her Dream provide funds for crucial elements of the program such as uniforms, classroom materials and stipends for students. This kind of educational intervention helps provide marginalized women with opportunities they'd never imagined possible. Your support helps them gain confidence and voice.
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